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Hankster Sunday Morning Chronicle November 6, 2011

Hey hey Hanksteristas!

Most recently I have tried to "segment" my posts so that they are more specific to the particular topics of the day for followers of the independent movement. Hope you have found this helpful.

However, today I present some of the most pertinent news and opinion articles for independents.

Enjoy!

-NH

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Books: Tom Brokaw writes about changes in America (By ROBMERRILL, AP, Fayetteville Observer NC) Each chapter of "The Time of Our Lives" begins with a box divided into two sections, FACT and QUESTION. Some sample facts: Independent voters make up about 30 percent of the electorate...
• New Louisiana Voter Registration Figures for Each Qualified Party (Ballot Access News) Independent voters, plus those registered in unqualified parties, equal 23.41%.
• Ind. candidates ditch party labels on campaign material as voters claim their independence (TOM LoBIANCO  Associated Press, Daily Reporter - Greenfield IN) Indiana politics expert Andrew Downs says ditching the party ties may be as much about appealing to the state's growing pool of independent voters as about the simple logistics of keeping campaign signs easy to read.
• Unaffiliated voters remain key part of South Jersey electorate (By STEVEN LEMONGELLO, Press of Atlantic City) Political parties go to great lengths to get their message across to an important segment of the electorate — the unaffiliated voters, or those not registered with a particular party.
• Ohio voters can strike a better balance (BY DAVID KUSHMA, THE BLADE EDITOR, Toledo Blade) More recently, we've seen nakedly partisan efforts by Columbus Republicans to cement their political dominance by working to disfranchise voters who aren't likely to support them, and by drawing new maps for Ohio's U.S. House delegation and General Assembly that mock the idea of fair representation. And much of this has occurred without any pretense of allowing political opponents -- or citizens -- a piece of an open, inclusive policy-making process.
• People’s Veto is move in wrong direction (By Doug Rooks, Sun Journal - Maine) Hearings on LD 1376 yielded no evidence that the 38-year practice of Election Day registration, or EDR, caused any problems… Is there evidence, at least, that banning EDR would benefit Republicans? Sadly, yes. In 2008, Democratic EDR registrations (13,910) surpassed Republican (5,452) by better than 2-1. But both parties were dwarfed by independent voters (22,210). Independents are those, by and large, the GOP would shut out.

2012

• A year from election, Obama faces tough road ahead (By Dan Balz, Jon Cohen and Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post in the Denver Post) Independents, whose allegiances have shifted rapidly, hold the key. But Obama's hopes also depend on rebuilding the coalition of African- Americans, Latinos, younger voters and suburbanites that elected him. NOTE ASSUMPTION:  AAs, Ls, YVs and "suburbanites" are not independent, they are Democrats, because all liberals are Democrats. NEXT!
• SUNDAY ISSUE: Obama not winning over Pa., but beating GOP foes (By Marc Levy, Associated Press, Meadville Tribune) When Obama is not lined up against a named opponent, 52 percent of those surveyed by Franklin & Marshall said Obama doesn’t deserve re-election next year, versus 42 percent who say he does. Independent voters, an important swing group, broke along similar lines: 51 percent to 42 percent.
• Romney, Perry target independent voters with bipartisan, cooperative tone amid political risksIn GOP campaign cooperative tone arises amid risks (By STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press, Newser, Washington Post) "This is not the Democrats' country or the Republicans' country. This is our country," Perry said during a recent campaign stop in Iowa, arguing that the country's troubles are ideologically blind and not Democratic vs. Republican.
• Legislators trying to get down to most basic issues (Kevin Landrigan, Nashua Telegraph) Still, there’s little doubt today that [McCain's] crushing victory over Bush in New Hampshire’s primary was in no small part linked to that anti-deficit, anti-party partisan message resonating especially with independent voters.

OCCUPY WALL STREET
'Move Your Money' march winds through downtown Saturday with support of Occupy Portland (Mike Francis, The Oregonian) Roughly 200 people marched through the drizzle Saturday morning in a noisy but peaceful demonstration supporting "Move Your Money" day. Chanting "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out," the marchers left citizens' arrest warrants at downtown branches of Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase banks, all of which were closed.




LOOK FOR a Hankster Special Report on OWS, coming soon!

Arizona Independent Redistricting Derailed by Jan Brewer

From Think Progress:

Gov. Jan Brewer Can’t Explain Her Partisan Political Tampering In Arizona’s Redistricting Process
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has been under fire recently for her dramatic political move to interfere with the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission. Annoyed that the commission did not redraw congressional districts to benefit Republicans, Brewer convinced the GOP-controlled state Senate to impeach the commission’s independent chairwoman, Colleen Mathis.

illusion / reality

fabric of the cosmos

Americans Want Alternative to 2 Parties

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Major Parties Struggle for Popularity; Broad Interest in an Alternative (ABC News/ Polls, by Gary Langer) Interest in an independent candidate peaks, naturally, among independents themselves; 73 percent like the idea, vs. 57 percent of Republicans and 53 percent of Democrats. And 37 percent of independents “strongly” favor the notion. Independents, as it happens, are in good supply these days: they’ve outnumbered Democrats and Republicans in ABC/Post polls steadily since 2009, by far the longest period in which they’ve done so in polling back to 1981.   
• Gallup poll: Obama scores points with Iraq withdrawal pledge (By Michael Muskal, LA Times
  November 2, 2011, 11:32 a.m.) Independent voters approved of Obama’s actions by 77% to 17%.

Independent Redistricting: Needed Now More Than Ever

REDISTRICTING

• Eyes on Ariz. as redistricting panel shaken up (By Gregory Korte, USA TODAY) Brewer, a Republican, accused commission Chairwoman Colleen Mathis of putting a priority on making congressional districts competitive at the expense of a "grid-like" map required by the law… Mathis has sued to keep her post, but her removal as the panel's only independent brings a 2-2 deadlock between Democrats and Republicans, who likely won't be agree to enact a map.
• Independent panel needed for redistricting - Despite Justice Department OK, Republican plan still partisan. (Charlotte Observer) Regardless of the outcome, there's a better way to do redistricting. A nonpartisan, independent commission drawing the lines seems the best way to get a voting map that's fair and designed with the voters, not the politicians, in mind.
• New York and Utah (Salt Lake Tribune) Substitute Utah for New York and Gov. Gary Herbert for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and note how this Oct. 26 New York Times editorial applies… Such [independent] commissions exist in Idaho, Montana and Arizona. When will our citizens insist on this?

Americans Elect Has 1.9 Million Signatures for Presidential Ballot

AMERICANS ELECT
Nonpartisan group offers US political alternative (By Patricia Zengerle, Reuters) So far, Americans Elect has gathered more than 1.9 million signatures in support of its petition to get on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and raised almost $22 million. "There is a huge receptivity across the board to an independent candidate," Douglas Schoen, Americans Elect's chief strategist, a former adviser to politicians including President Bill Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told a news conference.

2012
LISTEN: US Wants a 3rd Party Option, but Can't Name a Candidate (Martin Di Caro, WMAL.com) In interviews with WMAL.com, people in downtown DC said they would like a third option come next November, even if they could not name an individual they would like to see run as an Independent.

Kentucky's Independent Gov Candidate Gatewood Galbraith: "Willingness to transcend partisan gridlock"

KENTUCKY
Reader supports candidate Galbraith (The Times-Tribune) The next Governor will work in a climate marred by partisanship amidst a competitive global economy. Because of this, I support Gatewood Galbraith. His political courage to tackle the most vital issues others haven’t, his willingness to transcend partisan gridlock others created, and ability to question conventional practices others haven’t are logical and refreshing.

Working Families Party Organizing Campaign in Support of Taxing Wealthy

OCCUPY WALL STREET
Pressure to Raise Taxes - Democrats, Labor Push Cuomo to Drop Opposition to New Levy on the Wealthy (By JACOB GERSHMAN, Wall Street Journal) Entering the ring is the labor-backed Working Families Party, an influential force in state politics that stood on the sidelines during budget season last spring. Its detente with Mr. Cuomo appears to have ended, as party officials say they're organizing a media and field campaign in support of taxes on the wealthy. "We're in this fight full-throttle because the times simply demand no less of us," said Dan Cantor, the party's executive director.

Its on! Kelleher v. Jefferson: Internet Voting Debate

From Rick Hasen’s Election Law Blog


Jefferson: If I can shop and bank online, why can’t I vote online?
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=24849

Kelleher: Rebuttal to David Jefferson’s Brief against Internet Voting
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=24922

William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
Internetvoting@gmail.com
Twitter: wjkno1
Author of Internet Voting Now! at,
http://tinyurl.com/IVNow2011

sign my petition!

Voters Reject Parties; Primary Voters Not Representative of Overall Electorate

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Sub-par ratings for both major political parties, with most open to independent challenger in 2012 (By Jon Cohen and Scott Clement, Washington Post/ Behind the Numbers) Independent voters are broadly critical of the two sides: 55 percent have unfavorable views of the Democrats and Republicans alike. Again, with a notable fall-off for Democrats from August 2008 when 51 percent of independent voters had positive views of the party, 41 percent negative ones.
• Exhausting all other alternatives (Gene Fischer, York News-Times Nebraska) Low primary turnout is related to a decline in people who identify with a particular political party. I have often heard people say they vote for the person not for the political party. The problem with that position is that independent voters in the general election are making their choice from between two people preselected by primary voters. Secondly, those primary voters aren't representative of the overall electorate.

Americans Elect On Track for Ballot Access Across the Country, 1.9 million signatures collected so far

AMERICANS ELECT:
Nonpartisan group has Plan B for picking president (NANCY BENAC, Associated Press, San Antonio Express News) Americans Elect, whose slogan is "pick a president, not a party," appears to be on track to secure ballot access across the country, with 1.9 million signatures collected so far. But how it will affect the 2012 race depends on what kind of candidate its delegates select in next June's online convention, which will be open to any registered voter... Getting on the ballot in all 50 states isn't all that unusual: The New Alliance Party's Lenora Fulani did in 1988. The Libertarians have done it multiple times. But none of them garnered a big share of the vote.

yangtease

PHOTO: Kim Svoboda

Occupy Wall Street Drummers Beat the Weather in Zuccotti Park

Occupy Wall Street drummers, Zuccotti Park, NYC October 31, 2011

occupy your self!